FICKLE PHARAOH

BOOK OF EXODUS

CHAPTER 10
 

            Thank you for joining us again for our ongoing study of the Bible.  We’re about ¼ of the way through the book of Exodus now and we’re learning about the plagues that God brought upon Pharaoh and Egypt because he wouldn’t let the children of Israel out of bondage.  Moses and his brother Aaron are our key figures in the story as they do God’s will and take His messages to Pharaoh.

            The Lord told Moses, Go back to Pharaoh and know that I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his servants so I can show my signs to them.  You’ll be able to tell your son and your grandson the things I’ve done in Egypt, to show that I am the Lord.

            So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, The Lord God of the Hebrews says, How long will you refuse to bow down to me.  Let my people go so they may serve me.  If you don’t, tomorrow I’ll bring locusts into your land and they’ll cover the face of the earth, so many that you can’t see the ground and they’ll eat whatever survived the hail.  Your fathers and your grandfathers have never seen so many locusts to tell about from the time they lived until today.

            When Moses and Aaron had finished telling Pharaoh about the plague of the locusts, they left and Pharaoh’s servants said to him, How long will this man disrupt us?  Let the people go and serve the Lord their God.  Haven’t you learned yet that Egypt is destroyed?

            Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh and he said to them, Go, serve the Lord your God, but who exactly will go?  And Moses answered, We’ll go with our young and with our old, our sons and daughters, our flocks and our herds.  All of us will go, because we must hold a feast to the Lord.

            But, Pharaoh started playing games. And he said unto them, Let the Lord be so with you, as I will let you go, and your little ones:  look to it; for evil is before you. Then he said, Not so:  go now ye that are men, and serve the Lord; for that ye did desire.  Pharaoh was suggesting that only the men go and not the children. And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.

            Of course this was not acceptable as it was not God's will ... The Lord told Moses to stretch out his hand over the land of Egypt so the locusts would come to the land and eat everything growing in the land that the hail had left.  So Moses stretched out his staff over the Land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind that lasted all day and all night and when the morning dawned, the east wind brought the locusts.

            The locusts covered the land from border to border.  There have never been so many locusts anywhere and there never will be again.  There were so many that the land was darkened and they ate every single thing that remained from the hail.

            Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in a hurry and said, I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you.  Forgive me I beg you, just this once and ask the Lord your God to take away this grief only.

            Moses left Pharaoh and prayed.  The Lord sent a strong west wind that took away the locusts into the Red sea.  Not a single locust was left in all the country of Egypt.  But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart so that he wouldn’t let the children of Israel go. 

            The Lord told Moses, Stretch out your hand toward Heaven, so that darkness falls over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt.  Now that doesn’t sound like your usual darkness.  This was darkness that was darker than dark.  And Moses stretched out his hand toward Heaven and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days.  They couldn’t see one another or move for three days, but all the children of Israel had light in their homes.

            Pharaoh called for Moses and said, Go, serve the Lord, only your flocks and your herds will stay.  Let your little ones go with you too.  Moses said, You must give us sacrifices and burnt offerings too so we may sacrifice them to the Lord our God.  Our cattle will go with us, and not a single hoof will be left behind.  We must take everything to serve the Lord because we don’t know what we’ll need to serve Him with, until we get there.

            But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart still, and he wouldn’t let them go.  And Pharaoh said to Moses, Go away, mind your own business, and don’t let me see your face again, because the day you see my face, you will die.  And Moses answered to Pharaoh, You said it well, I will never see your face again. 

            That’s nine plagues for Pharaoh now.  From what Moses just said, it looks like things will be coming to a conclusion very soon for Pharaoh.  You won’t want to miss what happens next, so be sure to join us to find out what the last plague on Pharaoh and Egypt is in your next serving of Daily Bread.

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